Linda Lee Bushkoff
BUSHKOFF: On Friday, April 21, 2017, Linda Lee Bushkoff, age 78, died peacefully in the company of her loving daughters at her home in Squirrel Hill, just blocks away from where she was born on September 7, 1938. As the second daughter of the late Kayla and Joseph Moidel, she was a proud graduate of the Wightman School, Taylor Allderdice High School and Rodef Shalom, and earned a degree from Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, N.Y. Following her return to Pittsburgh, she met and married Leslie Berrent and together they had three daughters: Lane, Flynne and Heather. After living for three years in Amsterdam, Mrs. Bushkoff attended the Connelley Technical institute and Adult Education Center and worked as an OR technician for 10 years at Mercy Hospital. She also volunteered at Montefiore Hospital. Following a divorce, she fell madly in love with Dr. Stanley Bushkoff, an orthopedic surgeon, whom she married on June 4, 1976. Together, they built a beautiful home in Squirrel Hill and traveled the world, including visits to all seven continents, a llama ride into the Grand Canyon and a stay in an igloo in the Artic, ultimately filling up two passports with visa stamps. In 1980, Mrs. Bushkoff bought the Cathedral Answering Service in Oakland, a 24/7 physicians’ call center that she would own and operate for 14 years, overseeing a staff of 15. A health and fitness buff until her final years, Mrs. Bushkoff worked for a time as an aerobics instructor; participated in yoga, spinning, downhill and cross-country skiing, hiking and biking and was a frequent guest at Rancho La Puerta, Mexico. Having lost her father to leukemia when she was only 6 months old, she was a major supporter of the Leukemia Foundation. Throughout her life, Mrs. Bushkoff was known to people of all ages as warm and welcoming, neat and tidy, fun loving and adventurous, and as a problem-solver who was most proud of her daughters. She was predeceased by her husband, who died in 2008. In addition to her daughters and their husbands — Lane and Louis Weiner, Flynne and Ben Wecht, and Heather and Richard Rattner — Mrs. Bushkoff is survived by her sister and brother-in law, Judy and Israel Rudoy, and their family; Stanley’s children and their spouses — Cathy and Rip Collins, Bob and Tracey Bushkoff, Michael and Jill Bushkoff and Laurie Bushkoff; and her and Stanley’s 13 grandchildren — Nathaniel Rattner, Jonah Rattner, Dylan Wecht, Brittany Weiner, Zoe Wecht, Rose Rattner, Noah Weiner, Megan Collins, Bailey Bushkoff, Jenn Collins, Kaitlyn Bushkoff, Jessica Bushkoff and Rebecca Bushkoff. Services and interment were private. Shiva will be held at Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Avenue, Squirrel Hill on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. Contributions may be made to Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217; or Sivitz Jewish Hospice, 200 JHF Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc. schugar.com
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